Europe’s week-long cold snap kills almost 300

The Arctic cold snap that has hit Europe for over a week had claimed nearly 300 lives by yesterday, dumping snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa and bringing air travel chaos to London.

The death toll rose in Ukraine, Poland, Italy and France, where two homeless people found frozen to death were the latest victims, with authorities across the continent reporting at least 297 fatalities.

London’s Heathrow Airport cancelled a third of the day’s flights, while much of Britain was blanketed in snow, leaving many drivers stranded on motorways overnight.

In Italy, which reported a seventh victim, Rome was virtually paralysed by snow. The national rail operator faced class actions after hundreds were trapped in trains.

The weather emergency also sparked runs on supermarkets. “I couldn’t get hold of any food at the supermarket, people are stocking up like they did with bread in 1943,” Rome resident Salvatore Merlo tweeted.

In worst-hit Ukraine, another nine deaths raised the toll to 131 — most of them homeless people who perished on the streets — said the emergencies ministry.

Some 1,800 people have now been hospitalised, and 75,000 people had sought warmth and food in over 3,000 shelters.

In Poland, the cold claimed eight new victims, bringing the toll to 53. In Serbia, which has recorded nine deaths, states of emergency have been declared in 32 municipalities.

Almost 70,000 people remained cut off in snowed-in villages, with police and army units providing basic necessities.

In Romania, six new deaths have brought the toll to 34. In Finland, overnight temperatures plummeted to -40ºC but did not deter many Helsinki voters from turning out to vote in a presidential election.

Motorists were warned of more Arctic winds and slick roads and poor visibility because of powdery snow.

Similar conditions led to pile-ups on Friday near Helsinki, in which more than 200 cars were involved, and which saw about 40 people taken to hospital.

In southeast England, motorway drivers were forced to spend the night in their cars as drifts of up to 16cm halted traffic.

In France, the bodies of two homeless people were discovered — a 46-year-old woman in Compiegne and a 56-year-old man found on a Paris building’s fire escape — bringing the toll to five.

The cold front has even brought rare snow to North Africa. In Algeria, at least 16 people died and more than 100 have been injured since snow covered cities over the weekend, blocking hundreds of roads, and leaving villages in the mountain area of Kabylia isolated.

Five of the deaths were reported to have been due to separate cases of carbon monoxide poisoning linked to gas heating.